Jayson Tatum, Celtics Ridiculed By NBA Fans for Game 2 Loss to Heat With Butler Out

Shooting the lights out is a pretty good strategy to adopt when you're missing your best player.

The Miami Heat evened up their first-round NBA playoff series with the Boston Celtics thanks to a 111-101 win in Game 2.

Without Jimmy Butler, the reigning Eastern Conference champions buried Boston under a barrage of three-pointers, going 23-of-43 from beyond the arc. All five Heat starters scored in double figures with Tyler Herro (24 points and 14 assists) leading the way. Bam Adebayo (21 points and 10 rebounds) posted a double-double as well.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 61 points. Their supporting cast was noticeably absent, however. Kristaps Porziņģis in particular was disappointing, finishing with six points on 1-of-9 shooting.

The Celtics will take some solace from the fact this kind of shooting performance was an outlier for Miami. The Heat were 19th in made threes (12.5 per game) and 12th in three-point percentage (37.0) during the regular season, and they've been slightly worse in both categories during the postseason.

Despite Miami's uncharacteristically strong showing from deep, Boston remained within striking distance throughout. One would think Game 3 is shaping up to be a clear regression to the mean situation.

Still, memories of the Celtics' loss in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals continue to linger. Wednesday's contest was one of those things that make you wonder whether the Heat simply have their number:

Results like this also drive the narrative the Celtics aren't built for prime time, in stark contrast to their opponents:

It's too early to proclaim Boston is facing a must-win situation, but imagine if it goes on the road and drops Game 3 in Miami.

There would simply be no excuse for dropping two straight to the Heat when they don't have Butler in the lineup. If the Celtics want to prove they're a genuine contender, they better make a strong statement on Saturday night.